It's a brand-new me!

Kris bought me my own domain ages ago, but I never got around to setting up my blog there. I finally did it tonight, so update your bookmarks/Bloglines/Google Reader. Because I know that you can't possibly go without your dose of me. ;) New linky: Katydid Knits! My FeedBurner Feed: Subscribe to Katydid Knits

YPF - Williamsburg, Week Two

Today, we have some lovely Claudia Handpaints Linen in "Blue Fields" Isn't it gorgeous? I just picked up a copy of Folk Style today, and I'm thinking that the lovely green shawl in there (Kate Gilbert's "Paisley Shawl") might be the destiny of this yarn. Oh, and regarding the blog post title from the last post? It wasn't size that Steph was talking about so much as... um... on-display-ness, if you will. :D Charlotte's Web is still cranking along - I'm almost to the point of doing the final color by itself, and then I just need to do the crocheted edging and block it! Speaking of blocking, did I remember to tell you about my Mystery Stole? I wore it on Friday, including out to dinner Friday night in Philly. When we got back to the hotel and I tossed it onto the bed, I looked at it and thought it looked odd. It was so hot and humid that night that my stole started to UNBLOCK! I kid you not - the straight section is now narrower than the wing, and the edges are curling a little. Annemarie and I cracked up. So, it's time for another wash and block. I'm wondering if I can pin and spritz or steam instead of doing a full-on wash, though, because the wing still looks good.

"I took one look at her boobs and thought 'She's not with us'"

AKA - Philly Knittyfest '07. (I'll explain that title in a bit.) I was going to write a big long post about the weekend, and recap everything, but then I thought about it. It's about as much fun to read a blog post like that as being forced to sit through your neighbor's vacation slides. And I was having too much fun to ever get my camera out, so I don't even have pictures to show you! Instead, I'm listing all the people who were there (and if I miss you, it's not intentional! I'm still wiped from the weekend - just leave me a note and I'll add you) with links to those with blogs and (hopefully) pictures. Just know that is was an amazing weekend, we laughed ourselves silly, and are already planning to do it again next year. Very possibly in DC. Very possibly organized by yours truly. *Gulp* The PFK'ers, at least vaguely in the order of their appearance (from my perspective): Stephie Roxy kiddossk Artsygal mruiters Sharon knittingkitty Stariel PinkSkatingGirl Buttercup AKKnitter lunastrixae js-ATC Amyknitty MBT Sobe I miss you all already, and I can't wait for Stitches, or Rhinebeck, or SAFF, or SeaSocks, or whenever I get to see you again. And if you are ever in DC, PLEASE call me. And before we get to the WIPs for the week - that title. There was enough silliness going on that we decided Friday night that the quotables needed to be written down so we didn't forget them. The lovely knittingkitty had that job. There were many times through the weekend where someone said something, and it was immediately followed by laughter and a cry of "Emma! Write that down!" Anyway, we were walking from Rosie's Yarn Cellar to lunch. (OH MY GOD, Rosie's. The space is small, but it doesn't have that overcrowded feeling that small stores can have, even with all of us stuffed in there. And the ladies who run the place are total gems. Really, really nifty. I am definitely going to stop and see them at Stitches East.) At one point, a few people made it across a street before the light changed, and some of us were on the other side. When the light changed, we started across. There were two women who had been waiting on the other side and were now crossing toward us. Erica commented to Stephie that she almost said something to one of them, thinking they were part of the group and were going the wrong way. Steph's response? That would be the title of this post. OK, back to your regularly scheduled WIP Wednesday post, with a little SP9 action to boot! First - the Chevron Scarf. Still chugging along. I just started the second ball of each color. The Tess Ribbon Clapotis - I'm just about done with hank #2 of 3 (you can see what's left of it in this picture, so that gives you an idea) And a newcomer to the WIP list - my Charlotte's Web Shawl. This is something I've been planning to do for ages. It came up in various conversations that Chris, Shannon, and Cristi were also all planning to do it, so we decided to have our own little Knit-Along for it once MS3 was finished. Chris and I cast on together at Loop on Saturday, and this is how far I am. The way the pattern works, you do 16 rows in color A, 16 rows of alternating 2 rows of Color A with 2 rows of color B, 16 rows of color B, 16 rows of alternating color B and color C... and so on. I'm halfway through the 16 rows of color D. The FOURTH color. People, this is one seriously addictive knit. The colors are posed there above the shawl from A-E, left to right. It's all Koigu KPPPM, but I don't know all of the color numbers, because I lost some of the ballbands. Monday, as if the weekend hadn't been awesome enough, parcel #2 from my amazing Knittyboard SP Mostly Harmless arrived. She had the nerve to call this a "small" parcel. She's nuts! That's a hank of Fleece Artist Silk Rumple in a spectacular green, with a pattern for a lovely shawl, a DPN holder, a beautiful pewter shawl pin from PurlGrey (that of course will be fab with the Rumple shawl, because she's thoughtful like that), chocolates, and a key cover thingy that is a BLACK SHEEP! How funny is that? It makes me smile every time I look at it. Thank you, sweetie! You are the best! And a little closeup of that fabbo Silk Rumple. Seriously gorgeous stuff. Happy Wednesday, and I'll see you for Yarn Pr0n Friday!

Fuggadelphia

In a shocking twist unforseen by the knitting world, a crime against fashion was perpetrated this weekend by superstar Amy R. Singer. She was photographed during an appearance at Loop wearing this... erm... ensemble. Clearly, it started to affect Amy's behavior after a few moments. Here, it would appear it had taken over her mind enough to convince her that she could fly. No one seemed to know what could have possessed such a normally stylish, lovely woman to appear in public wearing such hideousness. However, our sources indicate that the blame lies squarely with her stylist for the appearance, one known only as "trillian42", seen here forcing a reluctant Amy into the creation. Later sightings of Ms. Singer indicate that she was no longer wearing the offending item, so we can only hope that this was a bout of temporary insanity brought on by ridiculous humidity and an invading horde of Knittyboarders. - Big, big thanks to Buttercup for the pictures, since I'm a lameass and never got my camera out all weekend, and unbelievably HUGE thanks to Amy for being such an amazingly good sport. I owe you big for this! (This was cross-posted to the official Fuggablog blog)

Yarn Pr0n Friday - Williamsburg Edition, Week One

So, last Wednesday (the 15th) Carrie, Maryanne, Carol and I piled into the car and had ourselves a little road trip down to Williamsburg, VA. You can see Carrie's recap of the trip here - I'll sum it up this way: We started laughing when we left the house at 8:30 in the morning, and we were still laughing when we got back there at 11:00 that night. It was a great day with three really great women. And I can't wait to do it again. While we were there, we spent a good amount of time at Knitting Sisters - a really lovely store run by some really lovely women. I might, perhaps have picked up some yarn while there. I know, I know. You're shocked. Here is a shot of my purchases: Look! Basket Pr0n! This is a Lantern Moon "Rio" basket. Honestly, I've seen LM baskets all over the place, and while I thought they were pretty, none of them grabbed me until I saw this one. The instant I saw it, I knew it was coming home with me. Claudia Handpaints Fingering in Knitting Sisters' own colorway (light on the left, original on the right). This will be a Jaywalker Scarf, as devised by JavaJem. Claudia Handpaints Silk Laceweight in "Walk in the Woods". Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff. It's so soft, and it absolutely glows. In other news, I finished my mystery stole! The pointy end: The wing: Closeup of the wing, with some bead detail: A very happy (if slightly dorky-looking) lace knitter: I love this thing. I can't wait until my new shawl pin (I ordered the silver swan) arrives and I can decide on an occasion to wear it. :) And now, I'm off to bed. Stephie is here, and we're heading out to Philly tomorrow with Annemarie for a Knitty get-together. Kris will be holding down the fort here and hosting a poker night with the boys. I fear slightly for the state of my house when we get back...

WIP Wednesday... sorta

OK, I'm cheating a little on today's WIP Wednesday post. My Mystery Stole is 5 rows + the bindoff away from being done (hopefully later today so I can block it tonight and have pics tomorrow), my Clapotis and Chevron scarf both look exactly the same, only longer. So, no pictures. Instead, I want to bring up a different project I've been working on for a little over a year now - Hats for Alex.* My goal for this year is to collect 250 hats to send. As of today's mail (Thanks, Poops!), I am at 116 hats so far - 46.4% of the way to my goal. The lovely Weezalana has come up with an idea that she hopes will help us get to that goal, and I'll post the details of it here as soon as she does. So, please, if you haven't done so, and you would like to contribute to a project in memory of a beautiful little boy, consider making a hat or two. Contact me, and I can tell you where to mail the hats. And please, spread the word. Thank you!!! *For those of you not familiar, I am collecting handknit hats to donate to Children's Hospital in Omaha, NE. They cared for my dear friend's baby boy when he was fatally injured by his daycare provider. You can see more details on the Hats for Alex blog I linked to above.

YPF - Visiting Knitty Edition

Last Wednesday (the 8th, not the 15th), I got to add another name to the list of nifty Knittyheads that I've met in person. The lovely jpknits was in town with family, and sent me a message on Tuesday that she had a little time before her flight on Wednesday, and would I like to meet up for lunch and a little yarn-fondling. She'd heard my raves about StitchDC, so she wanted to check it out. Happily, I was indeed available, and we met up for a lovely time. We both picked up a couple of things while we were there, and then we headed over to Banana Cafe (where I take everyone if possible), where she treated me to lunch and margaritas (Thank you again, sweetie!!). First, some lovely Scarlet Fleece Silk & Ivory in a color that I have loved since I found it way back when Maryanne and I went to StitchDC - "Olives and Pimento": Oh, that seems like an odd way to sell it? Well, that would be because I didn't get a picture of it before I cast on and turned most of it into this: Knit and Tonic's Dream Swatch (That's a .pdf), which I finished in a matter of a couple of days, have worn twice, and am already planning to make more of. For an action shot or two, check out Carrie's recount of the adventures from this Wednesday. (There will be future yarn pr0n from that trip in coming weeks) I also picked up some sock yarn, originally planning something for my SP, but the more I look at it, the more I think it might be a little too contrasty for her tastes. So... erm... yeah. It'll be something for me. Heh. It's Scarlet Fleece Painted Merino in "Red Velvet Waters". And it's been a week for big ego boosts for me. While we were in Williamsburg on Wednesday, Maryanne picked up some Claudia's Handpaints in the same colors as my Chevron Scarf to make one of her own, and this morning Amanda informed me that she was ordering some of the Silk & Ivory in the same color as mine to make her own Dream Swatch after seeing mine at DuClaw last night. People think I have good taste in yarn! :D Well, once Kris gets home from work, we're off to help Roxy celebrate her birthday this evening. Have a great weekend everyone!